CloudPull 2.1.1 is now available through this web site and through the in-app software update mechanism. This update has also been submitted to the Mac App Store, and will be available through the Mac App Store as soon as possible.
This update addresses a critical bug in which certain email messages were not backed up properly. The most disconcerting part of this bug is that CloudPull was reporting these messages as having been backed up even if the message backup file was invalid.
There are three parts to this bug fix:
- The cause of the backup failure is fixed. The cause of the backup failure was that CloudPull was using the incorrect string encoding type when decoding and encoding messages. This is fixed.
- CloudPull was not catching errors when string-decoding message contents. This has also been fixed. If for any reason message contents cannot be decoded, CloudPull will now properly detect the error condition and treat that error condition as a backup failure.
- The first time CloudPull backs up mail for an account after updating to a version with this fix, it will search the mail backup repository for bad message backups. When it encounters such a message backup, it will delete the message backup and mark the backup as failed. Assuming the message is still present in Gmail, CloudPull will back up that message again. As a result of this aspect of the fix, the first backup cycle after applying this update may take a couple hours; please just let this run.
While this bug affected a relatively small portion (fewer than 1%) of messages, a bug that provides a false sense of security with regard to the backup status is very serious. Given the seriousness of the bug, I have asked Apple for an expedited review of this update. I hope that this will result in this update being available in the Mac App Store more quickly than it would otherwise. In the meantime, customers who have purchased CloudPull through the Mac App Store are welcome to download the latest version from this web site. The Direct Download Edition of CloudPull recognizes when a customer has purchased CloudPull from the Mac App Store, and runs as a fully licensed copy when that is the case.
I apologize for this bug, and I am taking steps to avoid such bugs in the future. Please feel free to email me at jbrayton@goldenhillsoftware.com if you have any questions or concerns.
Update June 27, 2012: This update is now available in the Mac App Store.
